“Humor and derision are weapons not often used in African literature. Abdourahman Waberi proves to be a master of the art which adds a cutting edge to his magnificent narrative.”—Maryse Condé, author of The Story of the Cannibal Woman
"In the United States of Africa, winner of the French Voices Award, is a splendid learning opportunity for readers in the US and Europe. . . . This winning, witty novel will help turn a flat globe, on which some people believe only the northern hemisphere is of any importance, into a round world where north and south are equally beautiful, heroic, and historic."—Barbara Ardinger, ForeWord Magazine
"Djibouti-born Waberi's brief and concentrated tale—part satire, part fable, part fever-dream—imagines the world turned upside down: a war rages between Quebec and the American Midwest, and all of "Euramerica" is a dark, barbaric hellhole. In the United States of Africa, however. . . peace and prosperity reign. . . . It's there that a dreamy, restless young artist named Maya ponders her history. . . . Waberi manages to convince of the power of art and love to heal very real rifts."—Publishers Weekly
“It reads like a tale by Voltaire, but darker and more striking. . . . The polemicist’s weapons give way to the ironist’s verve and the sparkling grace of the futuristic tale.”—Le Nouvel Observateur
“Waberi wittily destroys a whole series of clichés and prejudices about Africa—questionable views about immigration as well as the unhealthy side of humanitarian aid organizations draped in arrogance. . . . But this novel is also full of hope.”—Le Monde Diplomatique
“[Waberi’s] hilarious parable makes Africa the main world power, suffering from a plague of immigration [from “Euramerica”] that makes it think of closing its borders. . . . The world upside down? Reality seen from the other side of the mirror sometimes gives us the shivers.”—Le Point
“Exhilarating and instructive. . . . This is a powerful, courageous, inventive novel.”—Le Matricule des Anges
"In the United States of Africa is not a simple book. It's not a fun-filled romp in an imagined world turned on its head. It is a very accomplished novel though, one that definitely deserves to be part of the "French Voices" series, and that the University of Nebraska should be admired for bringing out."—Chad W. Post, Three Percent
"The world Waberi creates in his new novel may be entirely driven by the question of "what if", but it has the natural and wonderful effect of making the reader re-examine what is. Waberi's keen powers of empathy, his sharp wisdom and his beautiful prose make him one of the most exciting and original African writers working today."—Laila Lalami, www.TheNational.ae
